5 Star Normandie boat/barge tour reviews — 31 to 60 of 69

Every aspect of this trip exceeded our expectations. The boat staff could not have been more friendly and accommodating. The rooms and food were excellent. The bicycles were in top condition, and the cycling director was a wealth of information about each day's itinerary. Our friends are tired of hearing us rave about how wonderful the trip was.

It was a great trip. We traveled with another couple and they also very much enjoyed the trip. Room on the boat was comfortable, food was good, bikes were good. A nice combination of fresh air, exercise and comfort. Have already recommended to others.

The staff were wonderful and attentive and the biking equipment was excellent. It was tremendously satisfying to enjoy this beautiful part of the world on bike and then return to the comfort of the boat each evening. Looking forward to the next trip!!

Our bike barge trip along the Danube in October 2017 was a great experience. Biking was fabulous, the paths we're all very good for the most part. The scenery was beautiful. We were very pleased with the friendliness of the staff and all the accommodations made for us. The food was all nicely presented and abundant. Our group of eight friends definitely would like to do another trip! Great scenery, great exercise, and an overall wonderful experience!

It was great from beginning to end. The only thing I might suggest would be perhaps a better map on a couple of the days for our biking excursion. We found our way, but got a little confused in a couple of spots. Staff was excellent, tour guide bent over backwards for us, food was delicious, etc. Working with Susanna prior to our trip was so easy and she answered all my questions. I would do it again!

Most Memorable Part? The people I met on board - staff and guests - and the scenery.

Loved the itinerary and biking routes!
Barge suggestions:
Dinner seat assignments-- still place with others of the same language, but not necessarily from the same country.
The upper outdoor covered lounge allowed smoking which meant the entire area could be filled with smoke! This type of trip is for active, healthy lifestyle people...smoking should be confined to a small area in front of the pilot house (or not at all).

The most memorable part of the trip? Everything: the boat, staff, accommodations, food, cycling director, bicycles were far better than I expected. The daily orientations by the cycling director were very informative, not only about cycling conditions, but also about refreshment stops and sightseeing. This trip could not have been better.

Fabulous bike/barge adventure in Germany/Austria! We'll be back! The cycling was on beautiful paths along the Danube. The food and service onboard were extraordinary.

The most memorable part of the trip were the people I had the opportunity to meet including the staff who were extremely courteous.

The boat its self is quaint. The cycling was scenic, beautiful and had a variation of easy to moderately challenging rides for an average cyclist, pretty doable for anyone. My only suggestion is to provide more water and provide it daily weather if cycling or not. In saying that, do bring yourselves 4 to 6 large bottles of water.
Packing -nothing too heavy do plan on layers, it was warmer than expected .
If you bring alcohol on to the boat you can only drink in your room.
Crew were great as was the guide and the food prepared by the Cook!!!

Cycling along the Danube of course was the highlight for sure.

The new friends we made! We absolutely enjoyed the other travelers we ate with every meal! They became great friends despite language differences. It was a fantastic trip. We [blogged our trip](http://bikeandboatthedanube.blogspot.com/)!

The MS Normandie took us on a fabulous adventure down the Danube from Passau to Vienna. The last day of biking was the most memorable as we rode thru some gently rolling hillsides and were enveloped by vineyards and orchards. The quiet and the beauty of the scenery was breathtaking!
Because it was all so beautiful we would on a daily basis become distracted and veer off the designated route (or maybe we were lacking in the map-reading skills). Therefore, after the second day we decided to each rent an e-bike so that it wouldn't be a huge deal if we got off the beaten path and put on extra miles. Best decision we made all week! Our new equipment helped us to keep up with some new found(older) friends who were rocking the routes every day.
The evenings were mostly composed of a nice slow 4-course meal (stellar offerings) and catching up with friends and family via the sketchy internet service. I would suggest you bring along a game or two and some books.
Couldn't have imagined a more complete and perfect vacation. We just had to get ourselves to and from the launch and dock sites and the staff of the MS Normandie took care of the rest!

The majority of the Danube cycling routes are truly beautiful. We were worried about the bikes only having 7 speeds, however it was only an issue when we made the climb to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Otherwise, they were fine. The staff on the Normandie were fabulous, as was the food. I esp. want to thank Ani and Mikki who were a huge help to us prior to the trip. We had lots of questions and they always answered them quickly and thoroughly. I plan on continuing to book my trips with Tripsite. What a great company!

The entire trip was memorable for me. I took lots of video and still shots. My plan is to create some YouTube videos to share the experience. I have wanted to do the ride along the Danube for several years and I finally got my chance. It was everything I expected and more. I am now looking at the choices for my next cycling adventure in Europe.

Walking and biking around Vienna. It is a beautifully restored city with so many historic buildings and places to take your breath away. Our bike guide Bernd added to the experience by translating for us all the history and important information as we were the only English speakers on the trip.

We have just returned from our boat/bike adventure and enjoyed it immensely. Being the only English speaking passengers on the trip, we were in the care of the multilingual SE bike tour guides; Bernd, Andreas and Wolfgang. And look after us they did. With all the tours and information in German, we would have missed so much if it hadn't been for Bernd showing up everywhere to translate for us. The staff on board were helpful, courteous and efficient. Food was gourmet and even with cool and often wet weather, tours were interesting and biking was exhilarating. Bikes were brand new, maps were clear and information given beforehand made navigating easy. Ebikes are the way to go if climbing hills is difficult; although it is mostly flat.
We would absolutely do this again with Trip Site or SE Tours.

Sometimes we were unsure if we were on the route or not. Maybe could have had some additional signage along route.

We found the boat comfortable and the staff really helpful and friendly. The trip was most relaxing and a good insight into the Danube countryside.

Was a great trip. Boat and tour guide were outstanding. Some of the staff were a bit stand-offish, but within reason. Just didn't make you feel 100% welcomed all the time (made you feel more of a guest than family) but again, well within reason. Got lost a few times so perhaps the maps could be a bit more directed, but again, not bad. Overall, it was a great experience and I would highly recommend it. Thanks - Larry

The bike path signs were sometimes hard to follow and we got off course a few times.
The staff of the boat, The Normandie, was fabulous. The food was better than we expected and they were very accommodating with our lunches. The wifi was very disappointing.

Really liked our trip director Andreas. The Theodor Koerner excellent boat with superb staff.

This adventure was more than we expected. The boat was very well equipped, and our cabin was comfortable and larger than we expected. The staff was very friendly and dealt with all of our needs, and the meals were fabulous. Our bikes were well maintained and were well suited for the route we rode. The scenery was amazing and we come home with a collection of pictures and memories.

Our Normandie trip from Passau to Budapest was spectacular! The weather, the boat, the food, the fellow bikers, the countryside and the bikes were all a delight. We were also pleased to learn that our guide rode each day. He was very knowledgeable; however, under stress was verbally contentious and short with guests. It became almost comical and so we learned to stay out of his way during certain times of the day. Nevertheless, the trip was a dream and we thank-you!!

Bicycling Passau to Vienna with the MS Normandie was a great experience. The bicycle route was mostly flat and in top condition. The views along the way were scenic and enjoyable. The small villages were charming and the larger cities were very beautiful. Our accommodations and meals on the boat were wonderful. One of my favorite experiences of the week was the optional trip to the opera house in Vienna. I am especially glad I didn't miss it. This was my third Tripsite tour and overall this adventure was everything and more that I had hoped for. I would highly recommend it to anyone that loves cycling. I think it is suitable for all skill levels. I will say that on this tour the guides daily instructions were minimal. His input was very basic and quite a disappointment compared to past guides. No photo slide show with instructions such as, "when you see this landmark or sign be sure to turn here." The guide books with maps that were provided were of great assistance, however, and we were able to compensate for the most part by carefully following these written instructions. There was also a small tourist guide book in each room from which you could read about points of interest in each city and village along the way. As I said, overall this was a fantastic week and my friend and I loved every minute!

Wonderful trip. Our room smelled really bad when we arrived. Mentioned it to the cleaning staff and they said it was the air conditioner. They were on the problem immediately and made sure we had no further problem. Bit of confusion with bike insurance, but on contacting Tripsite on our return this was dealt with immediately (thank you!). Might want to consider having a basic first aid kit onboard I fell in Vienna and badly sprained my ankle - no breaks fortunately. Had to get ice from he bar as there was nothing else available they couldn't give me much as it was needed for the drinks.

Never brought it up to the bike staff, but gears on my bike were difficult to manage. I attributed it to my having small hands, but I also thought the gears should be replaced soon, for the next "small handed" guest.

It was a wonderful experience and we were fortunate to have beautiful weather the entire week.

We had a fantastic time it was a highlight of the trip; can't say about the bikes as we had our own.

This is the 3rd travel group I've put together through tripsite and each was very enjoyable. My groups ranged in size from 3 to 12. The first was a land bike trip in Provence, France and the next two were bike and boat trips on the Mozel and the Danube. I am not associated with a tour company but found working with Tripsite personnel, Mary, Carla and others, to be easy even for a novice like me to put together such trips. I have worked with other agencies but have found Tripsite to be more "reachable" and available at any time I had questions. I will continue to use them for future group and individual trips.